Zerodha review

Zerodha is India’s first and largest online discount broker operating from 2009. It was started by Mr Nithin Kamath who was himself a trader before starting Zerodha. Besides low cost which most of the discount Brokers are known for, Zerodha is also credited for its technology initiatives which it brings first to the markets.

Zerodha trading softwareDesktop Based Trading: Zerodha has finally in July 2015 released its next generation platform called ‘Pi’ which was long awaited. This is one of the most advanced charting software provided by any broker in India and best thing it is free of cost to all the clients who open account with them. In Pi you can view up to 50,000 candles, various chart types, over 70 indicators, inbuilt strategies and can even create your own strategies; back test them, trading directly from chart, quick order entry screen with many more options. Here are few screenshot of their awesome platform

Zerodha Mobile trading:

Zerodha mobile trading app is called KITE, which can be used to trade in Mobile as well as browser. No installation is required to use KITE. KITE app is also available in Android Playstore and iOS. It is little different from trading platform which you have used till now and take some learning but once you learn the basics it is easy to use.

Browser Based trading

For doing browser based trading, you can use NEST or Kites whichever you prefer. All the data is seamlessly integrated and any trade you do and mobile is instantaneously available on the browser platform. Kites and NEST should be usable even in offices.

Zerodha trading account opening
The account forms for Zerodha can be filled online and sent to their Head office in Bangalore. The account opening requires documentation including PAN card, home address proof and bank details. Once you fill the form online, you have to print the documents, sign them and send it with Rs 200 as trading opening account charges. They are among the first discount brokers to become a Depository participant, hence able to maintain Demat account for their clients. Once you courier them the document, it generally takes 2-3 business days to create a new account before you can start trading. Another thing to know about them is you will never receive a postal mail from them. All the communication is sent on your email which is provided by you while opening the account including your username and password.

Demat Account Opening: In case you also want to open a Demat account with then, you can do that. They are among the few discount brokers who are their own DP . There is a DEMAT account opening charge of Rs 100. In case you are a trader (F&O), you don’t need a DEMAT account but in case you plan to do delivery based trading you will need a DEMAT account.Trading + Demat Account – So if you want to open Demat + Trading account, the charges for that is 300. In case you want to open commodity account also, the charge for that is an extra Rs 200.Commodity Account opening : The charges for opening commodity account is an extra Rs 200.

Zerodha Brokerage Charges: The brokerage structure for Zerodha is very simple to follow and is as follows
• Equity Delivery Based Trades: 0.10% or Rs. 20 per trade whichever is lower. AS of Dec 1, they have made the delivery based trades to have ZERO brokerage. So there will be no brokerage charged for delivery based trades anymore. You can read more about Zerodha Zero Brokerage plan here.
• Equity Intraday Trades: 0.01% or Rs. 20 per trade whichever is lower
• Equity Future: 0.01% or Rs. 20 per trade whichever is lower
• Equity Options: 0.01% or Rs. 20 per trade whichever is lower (on Turnover)
This means that the maximum brokerage you can pay is Rs 20 per trade irrespective of the trade size or what you are trading in. In case you want to see the actual Brokerage which Zerodha will charge, you can see their Brokerage Calculator here.

Just to give you an example of how there brokerage structure works is if you trade 1 Nifty option you would be charged Rs 20 for buying and Rs 20 for selling compared to about Rs 190 charged by ICICI if you trade on different trading days. Also they charge on order basis and not on lot basis which make it cheaper for any trader which generally trades in multiple lots. Below are some of the screenshot of the brokerage and other charges details

Other ChargesSTT: This is charged only on the sell side for intraday and F&O trades. It is charged on both sides for Delivery trades in Equity.Stamp Duty for all states in India: Charged at .01% or Rs 50 per contract note but will depend on which state you are fromTransaction Charge: In very small and is in the range of .00325% for delivery based, .0021% for Futures and .053% for options.Service Tax: This is charged at 14% of the total cost of brokerage plus transaction charges. So this will vary as the transaction charge varies based on the value of trade.SEBI Charges: This is charged at Rs 20 per Crore.

Other Charges (Broker Hidden Fees):
Call and Trade feature is available at an extra cost of Rs 20/- per call.
Instant payment gateway charges for over 21 banks – Rs 9 per fund transfer.
DP charges for delivery based equity selling – Rs 8 per transaction.
The charges levied by Zerodha are very transparent and you can even calculate the exact brokerage which will be charged to you even before trading on their website.

Other Value Added service offered by Zerodha

COIN by Zerodha

Newest offering by Zerodha which is providing purchase of direct mutual fund using BSE star trading platform. If you have a portfolio of more than Rs 25,000 you will have to pay Rs 50/month. This is cheap as when you buy Direct MF, you don’t have to pay upfront or trail commission which can be upto 2.5% per year. Read detailed coin by Zerodha review.

Buy Mutual Funds on Zerodha

Zerodha has finally taken its Mutual funds platform online, which will allow all its clients to buy Mutual funds with them. You will not need to open any new account for trading in Mutual fund. It will provide you a consolidated view of your holding in Mutual fund and equity on one screen, making it easier for you to manage your portfolio.

There would be no brokerage while purchasing mutual funds with them.

They are also offering SIP (systematic Investment plan) in mutual fund where you can invest a specific amount of investment per month as per your selection. They have also offered conditional order for the first time, which will work like valid till cancel order. You can place the order and expect it to be live on the system until the price have not reached your order price. This will make sure that your order will be executed once the price is attained.

Smallcase

This is another value added service available to Zerodha clients. Using this you can make thematic investment. So for example you this that this year, rains were plentiful and stock dependent on rain would appreciate a lot. You can buy Monsoon theme which will have all the stock which would be benefited by this rainfall. Read our detailed review on Smallcase here

Advisory Services

Most of the discount broker don’t provide advisory services and Zerodha is similar but they have a product for client who still want it. They have made Open trade which allows you to follow successful traders real time. To follow them, you will need to pay Rs 500 per month and once you follow a star, you will get real time update as and when he trades. You should understand that trades are not automated but you will get update of all the trades done by your star which you are following. It is upto you to manually place the order. Please see our review of Open trade on youtube below.

Other software/tools available on Zerodha
On their website you can find Easy to compute Brokerage/ Margin calculators. Advanced reporting tool called ‘Q’ provides all information regarding your trades, positions, capital management and provides tax ready P&L statements.
They also have analytics platform called Quant which is an analytics tools which shows thing like which of the days are best for trading for you based on past transactions and other things like that. Once you see this running it makes a lot of sense and if you start following it, maybe it can lead to more profits for you.

Other support initiatives like their blog ‘Z-Connect’, ‘Trading Q&A’ , ‘Pulse’ are also very popular. They also run a contest called ’60 Day Challenge’ where if a trader is net profitable in a 60 day period, all brokerage charged during that period is refunded back to the trader. Also 1 Lakh is given away every month for guessing the weekly close of Nifty on Zerodha’s initiative called ‘crowd.in‘. This works as an experimental leading indicator called crowd index.

They are also one of the first Discount Brokers which have started opening franchise offices in many cities in India including Bangalore (Karnataka) HQ, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Pune (Maharashtra), Ahmadabad (Gujarat), Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh) Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), Hubli (Karnataka), Salem (Tamil Nadu), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) and Kochi (Kerala). So in case you have issue opening the account online, you can walkin these franchise office and get details. You can find addresses of their local franchise here.

Zerodha Complaints Details at NSE
Some people are concerned whether it is safe to trade with discount brokers and if they can run with their money. But now a day, SEBI is very strict with compliance and it is not easy to run with client’s money. In case you have some concern like this, you can open an account with just Rs 5,000 for trading and see how they work. Also the shares are kept in Demat account with CDSL,NSDL and your broker cannot touch them without your permission.

These are the number of complaints raised against Zerodha with SEBI. The number is small as compared to the number of clients which they have.

Conclusion

So as we have discussed above, Zerodha is a one of the best and largest discount broker of India. So I would suggest providing your details below by clicking on the buttom and someone from team Zerodha will give you a call.

And I can assure you that if you are a trader you can end up saving thousands of rupees in brokerage every year.

Hi I am new in this market and if i will open acc with zerodha that will be my first demat acc. I know nothing abt there software so how can i leard the PI and Kite software and how to learn there system.

You bank account is linked with trading account and for Payin you have to use net banking and fund can be transferred. For payout, you have to put withdrawal request and the funds are transferred through NEFT.

If you are transferring money through NEFT, it is free but the money will take upto a day to reach your trading account. Zerodha also provide Instant fund transfer with 21 banks in which the fund transfer is done in real time. But with that, there is a charge of Rs 9 per transaction irrespective of the value.
Fund withdrawal are always free with Zerodha.

Hi ! I am new in share market. I want to open an account in zerodha ,but how can i trust them, how can i know they are authentic? They have no any ipo investment facilities, so how can i invest on ipo ??please help sir. I am very confused to open account.

Zerodha is a SEBI registered broker operating since 2010. They have more than 1.5 lakh customer. They don’t provide online IPO investment facility but you can still apply by physically filling the form and providing your DEMAT account number of Zerodha.

I have 4-5 demat and trading accounts eg- India Bulls, way2wealth, Icici direct. hdfc. and now only active account is HDFC. is there any problem if i don’t close them.
can i open one more trading account with zerodha?

Hello sir,
I want to start investing in stock market. I already have demat account in HDFC. Is it pissible to open trading account alonewith zerodha or do I have to open both trading and demat accounts? Please let me know.
Thanks.

It is possible but not advisable. In case you link your HDFC Demat account with Zerodha trading account, any shares you buy will be transferred to your HDFC Demat account. But in case you want to sell it, it will not show in Zerodha trading account. So you will have to sell it from your HDFC trading account and you would end up paying higher brokerage charges.

I am planning to open an account with zerodha and have this weird question. No not that i am a hypochondriac but just wanted to know what happens to the money in my trading in case of untimely death. Is there any nomination facility or how can my kin claim the money. Asking this specifically since i am planning to trade with a significantly large sum.

Sir,
I am planning to open a trading account with Zerodha. I have several questions. I request an answer asap. Sincere thanks in advance for your effort and time, in answering the questions.
1. I have a 3-in-1 (bank-trading-demat) account in my name through ICICI. Now I would like to open only a Zerodha trading account in my wife’s name, and link the existing bank account and demat accounts to this. Is this possible?
2. How many bank accounts I can link to the trading account at a time?
3. Should all the accounts be indicated at the time of opening the trading account itself, or can I add additional accounts at a later point of time?
4. Are there any specific banks, the accounts of which can not be linked ? (I read somewhere that one can’t link a Citibank account with Zerodha trading account….)
5. I am reading varied reviews (some good, some bad) about the ease and speed of trasferring funds from- and to- Zerodha trading account. Notwithstanding all the claims that I read in your web pages, what is the average time it takes under practical conditions for funds transfer?
6. Is your software “Pi” available for every Zerodha trader, or are there any fine prints attached (minimum balance / no. of trades in a specified duration / ….) etc.
7. Can I do simultaneous log-ins into multiple platforms – for example, can I log into both Pi and Kite / Z5 / NEST trader ? I do this currently on ICICI. I log into both TradeRacer and their web based portal simultaneously, and keep them open on two different screens. This way I can key-in my trades faster. This is really advantageous.
8. Do you allow intraday margin trading both for buying and short-selling?
9. Do you allow carrying over the intraday positions overnight?
– If yes, for how many days?
– For both long and short positions?
– Any change in brokerage for such carried-forward positions?
– Any change in margin percentage for such positions?
10. Do you allow short-selling in delivery based positions?
That were a lot of questions, but I hope I will get quick answers. Thanks again.
Regards.
Sundar

I will try to answer your question point by point
1) You can link the bank account but not the demat account. You can transfer the demat shares if you want.
2) Two of which one can be primary and the other secondary.
3) You can add the bank account at a later date.
4) There is a list of 21 nationalized bank and some major private sector bank which can be linked.
5) Payin in Instant if you transfer online. Payout may take upto 24 hours max.
6) It is available to every client of Zerodha.
7) Yes it can be done.
8) Yes margin are available in both the cases.

For the rest of questions, I would advise you to provide your details at zerodha.com/open-account?c=AUOSSO and someone will call you.

Dear Samved Sinho,
thanks for your prompt answers.
I feel point 6 is only partly answered. I read on Zerodha website the following: “To have Pi enabled on your trading account, you have to be an active client with us. Active clients are those with at least Rs 10,000 in their trading account, or who have executed at least 30 trades in the last 6 months, or 20 trades in the last 3 months, or 10 trades in the last 1 month.” Is this still valid?
I intend to do much more trading than this, but still would like to get clafification.
Thanks in advance
Regards.
Sundar.

I mean I will hold the account with percentage broker only for receiving research emails. But will open a trading and demat account with Zerodha. In case research tests are not required, I will close the account with percentage broker.

I am NRI based on UAE. I have an demate NRI account with HDFC and I am trading on regular basis. How can I transfer my stocks in your account if I opened account with you. And what will be charges for account and brokerage for NRI.

I am planning to open an account with zerodha and have this weird question. No not that i am a hypochondriac but just wanted to know what happens to the money in my trading in case of untimely death. Is there any nomination facility or how can my kin claim the money. Asking this specifically since i am planning to trade with a significantly large sum.

Dear Sir,
Please clarify the below:
Case1: For the intra day do you charge Rs 20 per trade or 0.10% or which ever is lower.

Case 2: For the intra day whether you charge only for selling or both the ways.

Case2: if I buy 100 shares at 10AM and buy another 200 shares of the same company at 11.00 AM and sell all the 300 shares at 3.00 PM. What could be your brokerage . Whether you consider two boys and one sell or one buy and one sell.

Case 1: The lower of Rs 20 or .10% will be charged as brokerage.
Case 2: The brokerage will be charged for both ways ie buying and selling.
Case 3: This scenario have three trade happening, 2 on buy side and 1 on sell side. So total brokerage will be Rs 60 in this case. If in case you ordered 300 shares in the morning but 100 got executed at 10 and rest at 11:00, then this will be taken as one trade and the buy order was submitted together.

CASE 1: I buy 1000 share of X company at 10 AM @ 100/share and sell all 1000 share @ 103 10. 30AM. Again, I buy 1000 of the same company at 104 at 11AM and sell at 105 at 11.10 AM. yet again, i buy those 1000 share at 2PM @ 101 and sell all of them at 3PM @99. So it is my total brokerage for having made 3 buy and sell of X company.

CASE 2: I buy 3000 share of Y company @ 100/share between 10 AM and 12Noon and sell all 300 share at 3PM @ 99/share. So what is my total brokerage of one buy and sell order.

Case 1: AS you made 3 buy order and 3 sell order, the brokerage you have to pay will be Rs 120. 3*20 for buy side and 3*20 for sell side.
Case 2: In this case you just made 1 buy and 1 sell trade. The number of share don’t matter. So the total brokerage in this case would be Rs 40.(Rs 20 for buy side and Rs 20 for sell side.
Just remember that the brokerage is decided by the number of trade and not the volume.

hello
I am trading with another broker and have DMAT with them. What is the procedure to switch/shift the shares in that DMAT over to ZERODHA so that i can trade and have DMAT with zerodha? what documents that i have to submit to zerodha for shifting shares from that DMAT.

The above reviews are very much usefull for me, since i am a beginner in Shares.
I want to open a DEMAT and Trading account in ZERODHA. Please clarify me the following Doubts

1) What is the main Difference between the DEMAT and Trading account
2) Since i am beginner, please advise which type of Trading is better. Long term investment or Short time Trading
3) What is mean by EQUITY Shares – Intra Day /Commodities/Futures – FO/EQ,COM,CUR/Options EQ,CUR. Please clarify
4) I read that, we need to Login to the Back office and we have to give the Request for the Fund Withdrawl. What it is actually?

1) Demat is like your locker where you keep your stocks and trading account is needed to actually buys those shares. For taking delivery you need to have a DEMAT account.
2) I would suggest Long term investing if you are a starter.
3) CUR – Currency options commodities – Gold, silver and other commodities. Intraday – Buy and sell the stock on the same day.
4) Back office means accessing your account with the broker. This is separate from the trading platform which the brokers provide. Backoffice is use to keep track of your portfolio, payins, payouts etc.

Sir, I held a trading account with India Bulls with demat account in icici. But I did not continue with Indiabulls for the past 8 years. But my demat account with icici is still active.
Can I open a trading account with you and operate my icici demat account?

You have to transfer the Demat account share to our Demat account. This can be done by sending the Client Master copy of ICICI Demat account to us. You can find more information by proving you contact details at Zerodha account open and some one from our team will call you.

Not sure what you mean by Direct Broker but they do have NSE registration. Pi is a software developed by Zerodha, So I would say it is different from NSE. They offer NEFT transfer from most of the bank. You can provide your details to them here https://zerodha.com/open-account?c=AUOSSO and there will clarify any question you may have.

Hi,Im planning to open a DEMAT accnt with my bank SIB (south indian bank).They told me that they can open a demat accnt without any cost.
So can i use that account to start trading with zerodha or any other broker.
And is there any charges for opening a trading account.Is there any charges for maintaining the trading and demat account (please specify).
Is it safe to link my bank account with the broker so that i could pay them instantaneously.

There is a small charge around Rs 200 for opening a account with Zerodha. It is completely safe to link your Bank account with your broker. They cannot take any money until you authorize them to do so.

1) No you don’t need to open separate Demat account with different brokers if you are a trader. But if you plan to take delivery of shares you do need a Demat account. Simply put, Demat is nothing but a safe to keep shares and until you have it, you cannot take delivery of shares.
2) No you cannot have one Demat account across multiple brokers. Most of the time the brokers have there own Demat account partners like Zerodha have a partnership with ILF&S for maintaining there Demat account. You can transfer the demat account from you older broker or open as many Demat account as you want.
3) Zerodha is a good discount broker with a very competitive brokerage rate. It is easy to transfer Demat account to them from other brokers. In case you have no share in the Demat account, you can just close the account. I would suggest you to close the trading and Demat account at the brokers where you will not be using it. You can open the account at Zerodha here https://zerodha.com/open-account?c=AUOSSO

I have a Demat account with Reliance and would like to start a new account with you so that I can transfer my holdings to your custody. What’s process? Further, what are your charges i.e. how much you charge towards maintenance? Is it fixed or transaction based?

I have demat Account with SBI. Is it possible to open Trading A/c with Zerodha & continue with existing Demat A/c. How you will link my Demat A/c with trading done at your plateform, as their is not column for the same in Online A/c opening Form

Yes you can open trading account with Zerodha. If you want to transfer the Demat account from SBI, you have to open DEMAT account with Zerodha. Trading and DEMAT account are different. In case you want to keep the SBI account as it is, that is also possible.

There are charges for account opening could you please tell me how much it would be for trading+Demat account. I had demat and trading account with ICICI if i opened account with zerodha without closing icici direct account is there any compliance will occur or not?

hello,
i am a m.b.a. pursuing guy,m very much intrested to trade in stock market but m not getting a good platform to start my trading ,is your company provides a good service for better perfomane in the market by providing technical analysis ?

Dear sir,
My current trading account is in Sharekhan with demate account. Now i want to change my trading company, is it possible to leave sharekhan and change my current existing demate account to your tradding company ?

Yes Anil it is possible. For opening a new trading account you don’t need anything from Sharekhan but in case you want to transfer your DEMAT account ie. share held in Sharekhan account, then you have to take the Master client list which shows the share which you are holding. You have to send the same to Zerodha and then they will transfer the share from Sharekhan Demat to your new Demat account. The process is simple and can be quickly completed.

Yes Shodhan, Zerodha is one the largest discount broker in India having more than 50,000 clients. NSE & BSE have very strict compliance policy in place and it is very difficult for any broker to run away.

Hello,
Currently I have the ICICI Demat account along with my savings account . But I plan to close my savings account with them. I wish to transfer my demat account elsewhere? Is it a possibility? Please let me know.
Thanks.